YouTube Rewind is a video series produced and created by YouTube and Portal A Interactive. These videos are an overview and sometimes a recap of each year's viral videos, events, trends, and music.[9] Each year, the number of YouTube personalities featured as well as the presentation of the series, has increased. The series' annual installments are uploaded onto YouTube's Spotlight channel.

The latest episode of YouTube Rewind was released on December 6, 2018. Upon its release, it received almost unanimous backlash from critics, YouTubers, and viewers alike with a percentage of dislikes being approximately 85%, becoming the most disliked video of all time on YouTube.

The first Rewind was created by YouTube in 2010 and featured a Top 50 list of the most popular YouTube videos for that year. In 2010, YouTube had started to create and produce Rewind videos with the help of Seedwell and Portal A Interactive.[3][7][10] From 2011 onward, the YouTube Rewind videos have only been uploaded to the YouTube Spotlight channel, with additional "behind-the-scenes" content.[10]

On December 13, 2010, the first YouTube Rewind was uploaded, titled "2010 YouTube Rewind: Year in Review". It featured the top 10 most popular videos on YouTube for the preceding year. It was uploaded on two channels: YouTube Trends on the first day,[2] and YouTube Spotlight on the second.[1]

On December 20, 2011, "YouTube Rewind 2011" was uploaded.[7][8] It was created and produced by YouTube and Portal A Intercreated,[7] and features Rebecca Black as the host. Her music video "Friday" had become a viral video in March 2011.[7][11] Like last year, it featured another top 10 most popular videos on YouTube for the year.[10]

In 2012, YouTube's Rewind videos changed to featuring several popular YouTubers; the most popular music, videos, and videos; breaking news; and internet memes from the year. In 2013, the Rewind Button/logo was created.[12]

On December 17, 2012, "Rewind YouTube Style 2012", referencing "Gangnam Style", was uploaded to YouTube Spotlight.[13] It was created and produced by YouTube and Seedwill.[3]

On December 11, 2013, "YouTube Rewind: What Does 2013 Say?", referencing "The Fox (What Does the Fox Say?)", was uploaded to YouTube Spotlight.[4] It was created and produced by YouTube and Portal A Interactive.[4] This was the first year that the YouTube Rewind Button was used; otherwise, it was very similar in style to the 2012 video. DJ Earworm mashed up six songs from the year. Jimmy Fallon and The Roots from The Tonight Show, made guest appearances.[4]

On December 9, 2014,[5] "YouTube Rewind: Turn Down for 2014", referencing "Turn Down for What", was uploaded to YouTube Spotlight. It was again created and produced by YouTube and Portal A Interactive. Over 10 songs were mashed together by DJ Earworm[5][14] for the video.[5] The video was not structured around songs, as in previous years. More internet memes and trends were used alongside the music. Its main features were the YouTube Rewind Button flag, with which YouTubers and characters run from the beginning of the video all the way to the end. The flag was run through the sets of The Colbert Report by Big Bird; Conan by Conan O'Brien, running through his own with Freddie Wong acting as the host' and Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, by Kid President. The actual Rewind Button was not shown until the end of the video.[14]

On December 9, 2015,[6] "YouTube Rewind: Now Watch Me 2015", referencing "Watch Me", was uploaded to the YouTube Spotlight channel. It was again created and produced by YouTube and Portal A Interactive. It was the first one to feature a hashtag; #YouTubeRewind.[6][10] The video heavily incorporated previous years of YouTube due to 2015 being the website's 10th anniversary.[15] The music mashup was composed by The Hood Internet. Additionally, Avicii composed an original remix for the video.[6][10] The video featured more gamers than previous years, such as YouTube personality Markiplier. It was set up to resemble the Five Nights at Freddy's, an indie, survival horror, point-and-clickvideo game that has gained recognition since its first release in August 2014. The Rewind Button and logo were shown throughout the video. Its main appearance was with PewDiePie and Zoe Sugg about halfway through the video. They appeared next to a scoreboard with two dates of December 9, 2015. Zoe changes one scoreboard date back to February 14, 2005, leaving the other at December 9, 2015. Afterwards Felix "brofists" the rewind button, triggering the video to show viral videos and memes from 2015 back to 2005. After the credits, the Fine Brothers were shown arguing about whether PewDiePie was in the video.[10]

On December 7, 2016,[16] "YouTube Rewind: The Ultimate 2016 Challenge", referencing the increasing number of challenges that took place in 2016, was uploaded to the YouTube Spotlight channel. It was again created and produced by YouTube and Portal A Interactive. Music was developed by The Hood Internet with an original remix by Major Lazer. The video begins with Dwayne Johnson showing a miniature Rewind button, and YouTube personalities hunting for 'Rewind' symbols in the style of Pokémon Go. The video also references objects being crushed by a hydraulic press, Hodor from Game of Thrones and the dabbing dance move. The video ends James Corden and other personalities in a car, in reference to the Carpool Karaoke segments from The Late Late Show.

Upon its release, Everyone Controls Rewind was overwhelmingly panned, receiving extensive backlash from critics, YouTubers and viewers alike. Many YouTubers deemed it the "worst Rewind ever".[25][26][27][28][29][30][31] Criticisms ranged from the inclusion of celebrities and personalities who are not affiliated with YouTube (such as Will Smith, Ninja, John Oliver, and Trevor Noah) as well as the exclusion of certain controversial acts, such as Shane Dawson, KSI vs. Logan Paul and PewDiePie.[32]

Everyone Controls Rewind incorporated user comment suggestions as a part of the video, although many viewers stated that the trends that the video included were unpopular to majority of the community, calling YouTube "out of touch" with its viewers and their interests. Julia Alexander of The Verge suggested that YouTube Rewind had intentionally left out the biggest moments on the platform in 2018 in an attempt to appease worried advertisers over controversies that had plagued the platform over the past 2 years: "it’s [...] increasingly apparent, however, that YouTube is trying to sell a culture that’s different from the one millions of people come to the platform for, and that’s getting harder for both creators and fans to swallow".[33] Meira Gebel of Business Insider shared a similar sentiment, saying that "The video appears to be an attempt for the company to keep advertisers on its side following a rather rocky 2018."[34]